Keep updated on all that is happening around Thiessen Farms!

CSA 2018 – week 16

The morning rains kept us out of the fields today, so we traded our farming gear for aprons and went to work using some of the leftovers from Saturday market.

Grape tomatoes were slow roasted with olive oil & garlic until they turned absolutely delicious! We’ll eat our fill now and the rest will be tucked into the freezer to be enjoyed during the winter.

An oversize patty pan summer squash became a batch of muffins (recipe below).

The leftover sweet corn from CSA was husked, blanched, cut off the cob and frozen for winter use – enough for 76 + meals. (And the cobs are being enjoyed by the chickens. No waste!)

Tomorrow we’ll scramble to catch up on our picking, and prepare for CSA pick-up. Here’s hoping for sunny weather!

_________________

Saturday morning at market, a regular customer looked at our table and declared that she was finished with all the summer vegetables – the cooler weather had her craving fall flavours! Fortunately, not everyone felt the same way and we had a good market day selling our “summer” products. The CSA box this week continues to offer an abundance of summer vegetables as well as some signs of fall.

There are only 2 weeks left in our CSA after this week. Still to come – weather permitting – are cabbages, beets, more peppers & winter squash …

What’s in the box?

Sweet corn, kale or swiss chard, sweet peppers, winter squash,

summer squash or zucchini, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, garlic.

Enjoy a few more ears of sweet corn in your share this week. The flavour is very great – and the quality is good too. While the corn in last Tuesday’s box was perhaps a little young, Friday’s pick was close to the perfect ripeness, and tomorrows pick should be excellent too! Looks like there will be enough good corn for Friday as well.

Swiss chard& kale. While kale is more common, chard is not as well-known. The stems come in a rainbow of colours – white, red, pink, yellow & orange. The wrinkled leaves can hold a lot of dirt & grit so they may need several washings. Whereas kale stems are usually removed & not used, chard stems are eaten. But separate the stems from the leaves and cook the stems first, until tender. Then add the leaves as they only take a few minutes. Both kale & chard can be sautéed with onions & garlic in a bit of oil. Perhaps add some tomatoes or even corn to complete the dish.

The sweet peppers continue to take their sweet time ripening. That’s why we have more green peppers available right now than red, yellow or orange.

The rain kept us out of the winter squash patch today so I can’t say what kind of squash will be in the box this week. But we’ll find something that is ready to pick & be enjoyed.

The zucchini & patty pan summer squash have been producing so much these last couple of weeks. Now the plants appear to be losing strength & vigor rapidly. Enjoy them will they last.

There are still plenty of beans coming. Beans must be picked when the plants are totally dry, to avoid disease issues. This can be a challenge in fall with the more plentiful rains, and morning dews that sometimes last until afternoon. But as long as they dry in time, we’ll have beans to pick & place in your CSA share.

I don’t usually favour recipes that include produce we can’t grow here. But I’m a big fan of limes and of Ricardo. This recipe is excellent!!

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

2 cups (260 g) grated zucchini

1 cup (210 g) sugar

1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

2 limes, zest finely grated

1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice

1 3/4 cups (265 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Icing (optional)

2 limes, zest finely grated

2 tbsp (30 ml) lime juice

1 cup (130 g) icing sugar

PREPARATION

Muffins

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-muffin tin with paper or silicone cups.

Place the zucchini in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes.

In a food processor, purée the zucchini with the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the eggs, lime zest and juice. Mix for a few seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups (see note). Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing

In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients. Ice the muffins, if desired.

NOTE

For a nice touch, sprinkle the unbaked muffins with grated zucchini. Grate about 3/4 cup (100 g) extra zucchini and divide among the muffins. And don’t forget to add icing for the perfect after-dinner cupcake!

I usually use a zucchini-apple muffin recipe, but I had a zucchini pineapple recipe recommended to me last week and now zucchini-lime? If only I had enough time to do all three at once and see which pairing I like best.